Impact of Tappan Zee Bridge is more than admitted

The federal government has approved the environmental impact statement for the new Tappan Zee Bridge, something Gov. Cuomo hailed as a "significant milestone."

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Posted Sep. 28, 2012 at 2:00 AM

Posted Sep. 28, 2012 at 2:00 AM

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The federal government has approved the environmental impact statement for the new Tappan Zee Bridge, something Gov. Cuomo hailed as a "significant milestone."

Really?

Did he or anybody else ever doubt that the feds, having put the bridge on the fast track for approval, would find something wrong in the impact statement and mess up the plans of both the president and the guy who might want his job in four years?

It would have been nice had the feds considered all the impacts that this new bridge will have. While it is crucial to minimize the pollution and disruption that comes from such a massive construction project, there are many other and more lasting effects that nobody wants to talk about.

Replacing a bridge overloaded with cars and trucks with another designed to do just about the same job will have a lasting and negative impact on the quality of air in and around the region. By eliminating the immediate accommodation of mass transit, the state and the approving feds have condemned commuters in Westchester, Rockland and beyond to more decades of the most wasteful form of commuting.

Curtains of air bubbles will shield underwater creatures from the noise of pile driving, according to the Associated Press account of the impact statement. But no such curtains will be around to diminish the greenhouse gases pouring out of exhaust pipes once the bridge starts carrying traffic.

And if the governor really wants to run for president, he'll have to do a bit better when it comes to tackling the vexing question of tolls. First he had his administration hint that it would cost $14 to cross the bridge, then he was shocked by the number and now he says that he can't do anything until the state knows what the bridge will really cost.

The governor can pretend that everything is going well with this project, but nobody believes him. That's not good for commuters, for the state's taxpayers and especially for someone who aspires to higher office.